Critical Thinking Questions

Q5

Q6

Schools often use concrete rewards to increase adaptive behaviors. How might this be a disadvantage for students intrinsically motivated to learn? What are educational implications of the potential for concrete rewards to diminish intrinsic motivation for a given task?

Personal Application Question

Q7

Can you think of recent examples of how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs might have affected your behavior in some way?

Solution

S1

B

S2

C

S3

D

S4

A

S5

The idea of optimal levels of arousal is similar to a drive theory of motivation. Presumably, we all seek to maintain some intermediate level of arousal. If we are underaroused, we are bored. If we are overaroused, we experience stress. The rides at an amusement park would provide higher arousal (however, we would hope that these rides don’t actually pose significant threats to personal safety that would lead to a state of panic) to push us toward our own optimal level of arousal. Individuals at the park would choose different rides based on their specific arousal thresholds; for example, one person might find a simple water ride optimally arousing and an extreme roller coaster overarousing, while others would find the extreme roller coaster optimally arousing.

S6

We would expect to see a shift from learning for the sake of learning to learning to earn some reward. This would undermine the foundation upon which traditional institutions of higher education are built. For a student motivated by extrinsic rewards, dependence on those may pose issues later in life (post-school) when there are not typically extrinsic rewards for learning.

Review Questions

Q1

According to your reading, nearly ________ of the adult population in the United States can be classified as obese.

one half

one third

one fourth

one fifth

Q2

________ is a chemical messenger secreted by fat cells that acts as an appetite suppressant.

orexin

angiotensin

leptin

ghrelin

Q3

________ is characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by attempts to compensate for the excessive amount of food that was consumed.

Prader-Willi syndrome

morbid obesity

anorexia nervosa

bulimia nervosa

Q4

In order to be classified as morbidly obese, an adult must have a BMI of ________.

less than \(25\)

\(25-29.9\)

\(30-39.9\)

\(40\) or more

Critical Thinking Questions

Q5

The index that is often used to classify people as being underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, or morbidly obese is called BMI. Given that BMI is calculated solely on weight and height, how could it be misleading?

Q6

As indicated in this section, Caucasian women from industrialized, Western cultures tend to be at the highest risk for eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Why might this be?

Personal Application Question

Q7

Think about popular television programs on the air right now. What do the women in these programs look like? What do the men look like? What kinds of messages do you think the media is sending about men and women in our society?

Solution

S1

B

S2

C

S3

D

S4

D

S5

Using BMI as a sole metric can actually be misleading because people who have large amounts of lean muscle mass can actually be characterized as being overweight or obese based on their height and weight. Weight versus height is a somewhat crude measurement as it doesn’t distinguish the amount of body weight that comes from lean versus fatty tissue.

S6

These disorders are closely associated with sociocultural emphasis on a thin-ideal that is often portrayed in media. Given that non-Caucasians are under-represented in popular media in the West and that the thin-ideal is more heavily emphasized for women, this particular group is most vulnerable.

Review Questions

Q1

Animal research suggests that in male rats the ________ is critical for the ability to engage in sexual behavior, but not for the motivation to do so.

nucleus accumbens

amygdala

medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus

hippocampus

Q2

During the ________ phase of the sexual response cycle, individuals experience rhythmic contractions of the pelvis that are accompanied by uterine contractions in women and ejaculation in men.

excitement

plateau

orgasm

resolution

Q3

Which of the following findings was not a result of the Kinsey study?

Sexual desire and sexual ability can be separate functions.

Females enjoy sex as much as males.

Homosexual behavior is fairly common.

Masturbation has no adverse consequences.

Q4

If someone is uncomfortable identifying with the gender normally associated with their biological sex, then he could be classified as experiencing ________.

homosexuality

bisexuality

heterosexuality

gender dysphoria

Critical Thinking Questions

Q5

While much research has been conducted on how an individual develops a given sexual orientation, many people question the validity of this research citing that the participants used may not be representative. Why do you think this might be a legitimate concern?

Q6

There is no reliable scientific evidence that gay conversion therapy actually works. What kinds of evidence would you need to see in order to be convinced by someone arguing that she had successfully converted her sexual orientation?

Personal Application Question

Q7

Issues related to sexual orientation have been at the forefront of the current political landscape. What do you think about current debates on legalizing same-sex marriage?

Solution

S1

C

S2

C

S3

A

S4

D

S5

Given the stigma associated with being non-heterosexual, participants who openly identify as homosexual or bisexual in research projects may not be entirely representative of the non-heterosexual population as a whole.

S6

Answers will vary, but it should be indicated that something more than self-reports of successful conversion would be necessary to support such a claim. Longitudinal, objective demonstrations of a real switch in both erotic attraction and the actual behavior in which the individual engaged would need to be presented in addition to assurances that this type of therapy was safe.

Review Questions

Q1

Individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder have been shown to have reduced volumes of the ________.

amygdala

hippocampus

hypothalamus

thalamus

Q2

According to the ________ theory of emotion, emotional experiences arise from physiological arousal.

James-Lange

Cannon-Bard

Schachter-Singer two-factor

Darwinian

Q3

Which of the following is not one of the seven universal emotions described in this chapter?

contempt

disgust

melancholy

anger

Q4

Which of the following theories of emotion would suggest that polygraphs should be quite accurate at differentiating one emotion from another?

Cannon-Bard theory

James-Lange theory

Schachter-Singer two-factor theory

Darwinian theory

Critical Thinking Questions

Q5

Imagine you find a venomous snake crawling up your leg just after taking a drug that prevented sympathetic nervous system activation. What would the James-Lange theory predict about your experience?

Q6

Why can we not make causal claims regarding the relationship between the volume of the hippocampus and PTSD?

Personal Application Question

Q7

Think about times in your life when you have been absolutely elated (e.g., perhaps your school’s basketball team just won a closely contested ballgame for the national championship) and very fearful (e.g., you are about to give a speech in your public speaking class to a roomful of 100 strangers). How would you describe how your arousal manifested itself physically? Were there marked differences in physiological arousal associated with each emotional state?

Solution

S1

B

S2

A

S3

C

S4

B

S5

The James-Lange theory would predict that I would not feel fear because I haven’t had the physiological arousal necessary to induce that emotional state.

S6

The research that exists is correlational in nature. It could be the case that reduced hippocampal volume predisposes people to develop PTSD or the decreased volume could result from PTSD. Causal claims can only be made when performing an experiment.

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